This past weekend, September 12-14, 2014, I had the honor of
joining a group of almost 200 Sherlockians in Bloomington, Indiana at From Gillette
to Brett IV: "Basil, Benedict, and Beyond” — a conference to celebrate Sherlock Holmes in film,
radio, television.

The event began Friday afternoon with a specially-arranged
exhibit at the renowned Lilly Library on Indiana University’s campus.

Library Director
Joel Silver gave a presentation on David A. Randall, BSI, the first Director of
the Lilly Library, who was responsible for finding many of the Lilly’s unique
treasures. At this presentation, Joel shared several of the awe-inspiring
valuables the Lilly has in its collection, among them: a Shakespeare First
Folio, a pristine copy of Edgar Allen Poe’s first publication, the epic poem “Tamerlane,” a signed copy of the first edition Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and one of the few surviving
copies of Pilgrim’s Progress (all of these
we could touch and even sniff in some cases). Then, of course, he showed us items
that would make any Sherlockian shiver with glee—the Beeton’s Christmas Annual of 1887, and a portion of Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle’s manuscript from “The Final Problem” (specifically, Holmes’ letter
to Watson at Reichenbach falls).

The Lilly staff also provided presentations on
bookbinding, how to preserve one’s book collection, and standing displays of medieval
manuscripts, Victorian crime and horror fiction, the original manuscript of “The
Adventure of the Red Circle,” movie screenplay manuscripts (Hound of the Baskervilles, Citizen Kane), John Ford’s Academy Award
for How Green Was My Valley (which
you could hold and pose with) and more.

Author and artist Charles Prepolec
"Would like to thank the Academy"
that he's holding John Ford's "Oscar."

The group then gathered to watch the 75th
Anniversary screening of The Hound of the
Baskervilles (1939) starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Seeing this
classic on the big screen was a thrill, especially in an audience of
enthusiastic Sherlockians.

The next morning (and during breaks) attendees visited the
dealers room to search for treasurers, while short Sherlock Holmes films showed
in the main presentation room. The dealer’s room was especially interesting in
that it held a special exhibit of Sherlockian movie and literary memorabilia provided
by Wessex Press co-owner and Gillette to Brett organizer, Steven Doyle

The first speaker of the day was Bonnie MacBird, former
Development Executive from Universal and the original screenwriter of the film Tron (among other high-profile projects).
Bonnie explained how the screenwriting of the BBC Sherlock series is what makes it unique, special, and uniquely
canonical. She said specifically that the series maintained the essential
character of Holmes from the canon, that it made the relationship important between
Holmes and Watson, that “creed” or a “code of honor” was important to the
series (as it was in the canon) and that it thrilled us with “the ride,” or
entertained us as the original canon does. The series, she said, was also
written for the actors and for the collaborators (i.e. special effects), making
its transition to film a seamless one. Her only disagreement with the writing
on the series was the end of the last episode of season three, in which (SPOILER)
Holmes kills Magnusson, as it seemed to go away from the “code of honor”
introduced in earlier episodes.

Bonnie MacBird

The second speaker of the day, Kristina Manente, host of the
podcastThe Baker Street Babes, discussed “How Fandom Plays the Game.” In her presentation, Kristina explained to “classic Sherlockains” how the new wave of Holmes fans, who primarily follow the BBC Sherlock series, convey their enthusiasm for
the characters. The “grand game” as played in this universe of fandom is
expressed primarily through social media: tumblr, Livejournal, and Ao3. She
explained new terms such as “headcanon,” “meta,” and “fancasting.” It became clear
that the new wave of Sherlockian fandom runs in tandem, and in some ways
tangentially, to the traditional activities of classic Holmes enthusiasts.

Kristina Manente

Prominent Sherlockian writer, editor, and playwright David
Stuart Davies then made us laugh with his talk on the comic
moments of Sherlock Holmes in the canon, on stage, film, and TV. He
discussed the silliness of the “untold tales,” how Gillette included humor in
his original play, Holmes’ creative put downs of Watson, his insults of
Lestrade, and how BBC’s Sherlock in “The
Empty Hearse” was using what was already implied in the canon itself. His
unique selection of clips kept us rolling with mirth.

David Stuart Davies

Fellow Brit Bert Coules, radio dramatist for the BBC Radio Sherlock Holmes series (among other wonderful BBC adaptations), followed Davies with a talk on the history of Sherlock Holmes on radio in Britain. As the writer of the only production to bring to life the entire canon, Bert first acknowledged the American contribution to Holmes on radio, then expounded on the many British adaptions of Holmes to radio throughout the 20th century. The highlight his presentation was video of a recording session with Clive Merrison and Michael Williams, demonstrating how physical the actors were in their performances, as well as how the sound effects team did their jobs.

Bert Coules

After a group viewing of Granada Television premiere episode
A Scandal in Bohemia directed by Paul
Annett, Steven Doyle interviewed Paul about the monumental series. After
revealing tidbits about how the opening sequence was thrust upon him (quite
happily, Paul added), the creation of the music, and how Jeremy Brett received
guidance on his interpretation of Holmes, Paul shared an unseen video of the
makeup screen test for Jeremy Brett and David Burke.

Paul Annett discusses the similarities of his directing choices to the Paget illustrations

At the banquet that followed Paul’s talk, Steve Doyle and
Mark Gagen paid tribute to the late Michael Hoey, the son of Dennis Hoey
(Lestrade of the Rathbone films), who was slotted to speak at the event. Michael’s
book about his father’s screenplay. The
Drury Lane Theatre Mystery, was released posthumously at the conference.

Gillette to Brett IV then wound up with the 75th
Anniversary showing of The Adventures of
Sherlock Holmes (1939) which was enjoyed by all. Seeing this fabulous film
on the big screen with a crowd of fans was the ultimate ending of a truly
enjoyable weekend of Sherlockian media mania. Mucho kudos to the boys from Wessex Press, Steve Doyle and Mark Gagen, who made it all possible!